Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-04-01

| name OF the Lord" "The Lord shut him in. ?"
| All the sins of a lifetime clamored for his
| overthrow The broken VOWS, the dishonored
| Sabbaths, the outrageous profanltles, the
| misdemeanors of twenty years, reached up
| their hands to the door of the ark to pull him
| out. The boundless ocean of his sin sur
| rounded his soul, bowling like simoom,
| raying like an euroclyzon. But, looking out
| of the window, he saw his sins sink like lead
| into the depths Of the sea. The dove of
| heaven brought an olive branch to the ark.
The wrath of the billow only pushed him to-
| ward heaven. "The Lord shut him in"
| The same door fastenings that kept Noah in
keep the world out. I am glad to know that
| when a man reaches heaven all earthly
| troubles are done with him. Here he may
| have had it hard to get bread for his family;
there he will never hunger any more. Here
he may have wept bitterly; there ,"the lamb
| that is in the midst of the throne will lead
him to living fountains of water, and God
will wipe away all tears from his eyes" Here
| he may have hard work to get a house; but
| in my Fathers house are many mansions, and
| rent day never comes. Here there are death
| beds and collins, and graves; there no sick
ness. no weary watching, no choking cough,
| no consuming fever, no chattering chill, no
| tolling bell, no grave. The sorrows of life
| shall come up and knock at the door, but no
admittance. The perplexities of life shall
| come up and knock on the door, but no adj
mittance. Safe forever! All the agony
| of earth in one wave dashing against the bull
| warks of the ship of celestial light shall not
| break them down. Howl on, ye winds, and
rage, ye seas! "The Lord shut him in"
| Oh, what grand old door! So wide, so
fastenings. No burglars key can pick that
| lock. No swarthy arm Of hell can shove back
thebolt. I rejoice that do not ask you to
come aboard crazy craft with leaking hulk,
and broken helm and unfaStened door; but
an ark so cubits vide and 300 cubits lopg.
and door SO large that the round earth.
without grazing the posts, might be bowled
i'll.
Now, if the ark of Christ is so grand place
i'll which to live, and die, and triumph come
into the ark. Know well that the door that
shut Noah in shut the world out; and though,
when the pitiless storm came pelting on their
heads, they beat upon the door, saying: "Let
me in! let me in!" the door did not open. For
120 years they were invited. They expected
to come in; but the Antediluvian said:
awe must cultivate these fields, we
must be worth more f1ecks of sheep
and herds of cattle; we will wait
until we get little older; we will enjoy our
old farm a little longer" But meanwhile the
storm was brewing. The fountains of heaven
were filling up. The pry was being placed
beneath the foundations of the great deep.
The last year had come, the last month, the
last week, the last day. the last hour, the last
moment. In an awful dash, an ocean dropped
from the sky and rolled up from beneath, and
God rolled the earth and sky into one wave
of universal destruction.
So men now put off going into the ark.
They say they will wait twenty years first.
They will have little longer time with their
worldly associates. They will wait until they
get older They say you cannot expect
man of my attainments and of my position to
surrender myself just now. But before the
storm comes I will go in Yes, will I
know what I am about. Trust me. After
a while, one night about 10 o'clock. going
home he passes scaffolding as gust of
wind strikes it and a plank falls. Dead! and
outside the ark! Or, ridingI in the park, a
reckless vehicle crashes into him, and his
horse becomes unmanageable, and he shouts:
"Whoa! Whoai" and takes another twist in
the reins and plants his feet against the dash
board, and pulls back. But no use. 1t is
llOb 81 AiAuSu doWA Iuo dN0uuo Ulttt lie
flies as on the way to eternity. Out of the
wreck of the crash his body is drawn, but his
soul is not picked up. It fled behind swifter
courser into the great future. Dead, and out
side the ark! Or some night he wakes up
with distress that momentarily increases,
until he shrieks out with pain. The doctors
come in and they give him twenty drops, but
no relief; forty drops, fifty drops, sixty drops,
but no relief. No time for prayer No time
to read one of the promises. No time to get
single sin pardoned. The whole house is
aroused in alarm. The children scream: the
wife faints; the pulses fail; the heart stops;
the soul flies Oh, my God! dead, and outside
the ark!
have no doubt that derision kept many
people out of the ark. The world laughed to
see man go in and said: "Here is a man
starting for the ark. Why, there will be no
deluge. If there is one that miserable ship
will not weather it. Anal going into the
arkl Well, that is too good to keep. Here.
fellows, have you heard the news? This man
is going into the ark" Under this artillery
of scorn the mans good resolution persisted
And so there are hundreds kept out by the
fear of derision. The young man asks him
self: "What would they say at the store to-
morrow morning if should become a Chris
tian? When go down to the club house they
would shout Here comes that new Christian.
Suppose you will not have anything to do
with us now. Suppose you are praying now.
Get down on your knees and let us hear you
pray. Come, now, give us touch. VIII
not do it, eh? Pretty Christian you are.'" Is
it not the fear of being laughed at that keeps
you out of the kingdom of God? Which of
these scorners will help you at the last? When
you lie down on dying pillow which of them
will be theres In the day of eternity will
they bail you out?
My friends and neighbors, come in right
away. Come in through Christ, the wide
door-the door that swings out toward you.
Come in and be saved. Come and be happy
sThe spirit and the bride say, come" Room
in the ark! Room in the ark!
But do not come alone. The text invites
you TO bring your family. @Come thou and
all thy house." That means your wife and
your children. You cannot drive them in.
If Noah had tried to drive the pigeons and
the doves into the ark, he would only have
scattered them. Some parents are not wise
about these things. They make iron rules
about Sabbaths, and they force the cate
chism down the throat as they would hold
the child's nose and force down a dose Of
rhubarb and calomel. You cannot drive
your children into the ark You can draw
your children to Christ, but you cannot CO.
cree them. The cross was lifted, not to drive,
but to draw. eff be lifted up, will draw
all men unto me-" As the sun draws up the
drops of morning dew, so the sun of righteous
ness exhales the tears of repentance.
"Come, thou and all thy house into the
ark" Be sure that you bring your husband
and wife with you. How would Noah have
felt if, when he heard the rain pattering on
the roof of the ark, he knew that his wife
was outside in the storm9 No; she went with
him. And yet some of you are on the ship
"outward bound" for heaven, but your COM
panion is unsheltered. You remember the
day when the marriage ring was set. Moth
ing has yet been able to break it. Sickness
came, and the finger shranlz. but the ring
staid on. The twain stood alone above a
child's grave, and the dark mouth of the
tomb swallowed up a thousand hopes; but the
ring dropped not into the open grave Days
of poverty came, and the hand did many
hard days work; but the rubbing of the work
against the ring only made it shine brighter.
Shall that ring ever be lost? Will the iron
clang of the sepulchre gate crush it forevera
pray God that YOU who have been married